Sheet materials are common in everyday life. Examples of sheet materials include wallpaper, billboards, posters and advertisements, which are typically applied to vertical surfaces. Other examples include linoleum and other flooring, which are typically applied to horizontal surfaces. Sheet materials may be applied to other sheet materials, i.e., a lamina to make laminate materials. The laminate materials are then put to the end use. The substrate may also be portable as in the case of an open container or package.
Certain applications of a sheet material to a substrate present special problems. For example, applying wallpaper to a wall presents the problem of aligning the edge of the wallpaper against the ceiling or corner. Likewise, applying a poster to a backing may require similar alignment relative to a corner. Furthermore, there may be restrictions on the end of the sheet material to be cut from a roll, such as occurs when wallpaper meets the baseboard near the floor.
There have been several attempts in the art to conveniently apply a sheet material to a substrate. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,181, issued Jul. 13, 1976 to Seabold, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,184, issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Shannon, teach a transfer adhesive dispensing device and wallpaper applicator, respectively. However, each of these teachings use a single curved surface at the point of application onto the substrate. The curved surface makes it difficult to accommodate corners, etc., as described above.
Attempts to overcome the problems found with the curved surface occurring at the point of contact are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,270, issued Jun. 2, 1998 to Lee; U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,002, issued May 9, 2000 to Katami; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,231 B1, issued Sep. 17, 2002 to Ishikawa. These references show a correction tape adhesiver, an application tool, and a film transfer apparatus, respectively. Each has an application point that comes to a knife edge. However, these teachings do not show how to burnish or otherwise apply the sheet material to the substrate so that it is applied in a smooth manner, relieving air bubbles, and ensuring conformance to the topography of the substrate.
An attempt to overcome these disadvantages are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,432, issued Dec. 26, 1995 to Vester. Vester teaches a wallpaper border applicator having a spool receiver assembly offset from a base assembly. The offset provides an ergonomically inefficient design, and makes precise location of the wallpaper difficult to achieve.
An attempt to overcome this disadvantage is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,682, issued Dec. 8, 1987, to Barbe et al. Barbe teaches a wallpaper applicator for applying wallpaper in a single continuous stroke. However, Barbe does not deal with the problems of securely and accurately placing wallpaper in the corner near the ceiling.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a sheet material applicator and method of applying sheet materials which simultaneously provides for precise placement of the sheet material in a corner and/or at the end of the run. Additionally, there is a need in the art for a sheet material applicator and method which simultaneously burnishes the sheet material during application.